AROUND THE MAJORS

TEARFUL TESTIMONY: Crying, William Reedy testified that he didn't drive the pickup truck in which Billy Martin was killed but lied to authorities and said he was the driver "to protect Billy."

Reedy, a Detroit bar owner accused of driving while intoxicated during the wreck that killed Martin on Christmas 1989, recalled how Martin, the five-time New York Yankees manager, didn't respond after the crash.

"I said to Billy, 'If you can get up, I'll push you out of the window,' " Reedy said. "Billy's back was against the wall and his head slumped forward."

Reedy is defending himself against the charges by claiming that he wasn't driving and wasn't intoxicated. He testified for 1 1/2 hours in a Port Crane, N.Y., courtroom.

Reedy said he had "four or five beers" and a screwdriver while at the bar. But he insisted he wasn't drunk and finished none of the drinks.

Shortly before the pickup truck began skidding on an icy road on the trip home, Reedy testified that he heard Martin say, "Goddamn it, I missed the turn."

AILING: Rangers right-hander Kevin Brown (12-10) won't pitch again this season because of what Manager Bobby Valentine called "a stress reaction on the ulnar bone" in his right arm.

SPIRA CONT'D: Howard Spira, an acknowleged gambler accused of trying to extort thousands of dollars from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, will likely be charged with additional crimes, a federal prosecutor said.

At a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe expressed reluctance to the setting of a trial date for Spira, saying there was "a distinct chance" the case would be re-presented to a federal grand jury for more criminal charges.